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Senshi Sōsho From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search The Senshi Sōsho (戦史叢書, War History Series), also called the Kōkan Senshi (公刊戦史), is the official military history of Imperial Japan's involvement in the Pacific War from 1937 to 1945. It is the first basic reference work to turn to when studying the history of the Pacific War. The series form a very extensive detailed sequel of the earlier rudimentary “Japanese Monograph- series” concerning Japanese actions in China during 1937- 1945, drafted, collected and translated by army and naval officers of the U.S. Military History Section of General Headquarters, Far East Command. The task of compiling the official account of the Japanese involvement in World War II began in October 1955 with the opening of the War History Office (the present Military History Department of the “National Institute for Defense Studies”, or NIDS, of Japan's Ministry of Defense in Tokyo, Japan). Although this is a government agency, the series does not express the official view of the Japanese government on the Pacific War. Its main function was to serve as educational research material for the Self-Defense Forces. The office was led by Colonel Nishiura Susumu, a senior official in the War Ministry during the war. The series was published by Asagumo Shimbunsha [Asagumo Newspaper Inc.] .[1] The history, comprising 102 volumes, the first of which was published in 1966 and the final one in 1980, was compiled from Imperial Japanese Army, Imperial Japanese Navy, other Japanese government records, and personal diaries and records which survived Japan's defeat in the war. Many of the records were initially confiscated by Allied governments, mainly the United States, but were returned to Japan in 1958.[2] In 1985 and 1986 two supplemental unnumbered volumes were published. The 134 authors and researchers of the Senshi Sōsho series tried to convey as faithfully as possible facts, based on 100.000 documents and oral evidence from 15.000 interviews and leave analyses of veterans. This is even reflected in the title of the series. By choosing the title “War History Series,” they consciously tried to steer clear of the political and ideological controversies that surrounded such titles as “History of the Greater East Asia War,” or “History of the Pacific War” given the naming of the last war- debate in Japan. In Senshi Sōsho volume 3 the use of the term “Greater East Asia War” in the main text was allowed, but avoided in titles, forewords and explanatory notes The 102 numbered volumes of the series include 37 volumes on the Imperial Headquarters, 34 volumes on army campaigns, 21 volumes on navy campaigns, nine volumes about air services campaigns, and one volume of chronology.[3] Contents •	1English translations •	2Digital Japanese edition •	3Notes •	4References English translations[edit] The series is a kind of primary historical source and provides information and details on Japanese organization and operations in the Pacific campaign. Currently, only two volumes (Vol. 3 "Occupation of Dutch East Indies"[4] and Vol. 26 "The Operations of the Navy in the Dutch East Indies and the Bay of Bengal"[5]) have been translated into English from the Japanese language by The Corts Foundation (https://www.cortsfoundation.org ). In this way Western historians, who do not read Japanese, are facilitated in making use of the information in western studies of the Pacific War. These volumes are available with Open Access. These translations focuses specifically on the volumes relevant to the study of the Japanese attack on and the subsequent occupation of the former Dutch East Indies in the period of 1941 to 1945.[3] Senshi Sōsho volume 3, of which the Japanese Sixteenth Army was in charge, mainly deals with the history of operations and engagements until the beginning of March 1942 when the Royal Netherlands Indies Army (“KNIL”) surrendered. Senshi Sōsho volume 26, a Naval operations volume, describes the Sea Engagements off Bali (“Strike in Bandung Strait”), off Surabaya (“Battle of the Java Sea”), off Batavia (“ Battle of Sunda Strait”), and in reasonable detail the events in Menado, Makassar, and the involvement in the northern Sumatra campaign. The events in central and northern Sumatra (and Burma), which fell under the responsibility of the Japanese Twenty- fifth Army, located at Singapore and Malaysia, are recorded in Senshi Sōsho volume 5 “Operations in Burma”. This volume will be – partly- published by the Corts Foundation at the end of 2020. The Corts Foundation is currently translating some chapters of volume vol. 34 "Army Air Drive to the Southern Pacific Area") into English. This concerns the Third Army (Air) operations, in particular the success of the “stepping-stone operations”. We only focus on Java in particular, as many other chapters of volume 34 deal with areas outside today's Indonesia. There is another translation by The Australian War Memorial, "Japanese army operations in the South Pacific Area: New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43". This book is a translation of portions of volumes 14 ("Army Operations in the South Pacific: Port Moresby to the First Phase of Guadalcanal, pt. 1") and 28 ("Army Operations in the South Pacific: Guadalcanal - Buna Operations, pt. 2") of the Senshi Sōsho, covering the invasion of Rabaul, the battles along the Kokoda Trail and at Milne Bay, and the destruction of the Japanese forces at Buna, Gona and Giruwa in northern Papua.[6] Digital Japanese edition[edit] In December 2018, all volumes became available online at NIDS Library & Historical records Search System [1] Notes[edit] 1.	^ Parshall, p. xxiv; NIDS. 2.	^ Taylan 3.	^ Jump up to: a b The Corts Foundation 4.	^ The Corts Foundation: September 2015: Publication Senshi Sōsho volume 3 5.	^ The Corts Foundation: September 2018: Publication Second Senshi Sōsho volume 26 6.	^ The Australia–Japan Research Project: "Japanese army operations in the South Pacific Area: New Britain and Papua campaigns, 1942–43" References[edit] •	Kurono, Taeru (January 28, 2009). "World War I and the First Amendment of the Imperial Defense Policy". National Institute of Informatics. Historical Society of Japan. Retrieved April 28,2009. •	National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) (January 28, 2009). "Military History Documents at NIDS". Military Archival Library. War History Office, Ministry of Defense (Japan). Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2009. •	Parshall, Jonathan; Tully, Anthony (2005). Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Dulles, VA: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-923-0. •	Taylan, Justin (January 28, 2009). "Senshi Sosho". Pacific World War II Book Review. Pacific Wrecks.org. Retrieved April 28, 2009. •	The Corts Foundation. "Senshi Sosho". Project Senshi Sosho II and III. Retrieved March 30, 2015. Authority control •	LCCN: n86743869 •	VIAF: 178669096 •	WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 178669096

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Joan Snellen (talk) 22:34, 13 July 2019 (UTC)Joan Snellen